SEAC strongly condemns the actions of The Montpelier Foundation (TMF) and its CEO Roy Young, including the firing of Elizabeth Chew, Executive Vice President and Chief Curator, Matthew Reeves, Director of Archaeology and Landscape Restoration, Christy Moriarty, Director of Communications, and Alex Walsh, Events Manager, and the suspension of Christopher Pasch, Archaeology Field Director, and Mary Furlong Minkoff, Director of Archaeology and Curator of Archaeological Collections. The Foundation’s retraction of their pledge to share governance of President James Madison’s estate with the Montpelier Descendants Committee, an organization representing descendants of the families enslaved by Madison, is reprehensible. Both actions - the wholesale termination of long-standing, experienced staff, and the lack of inclusive cooperation with the MDC - threaten the long-term viability of this important historical place and greatly diminish the standing of The Montpelier Foundation. SEAC urges the National Trust for Historic Preservation to reconsider its leasing of the site to the TMF.